Ellis l



u 2 Sheizfs'LL-Sheet E. L. ROWB.

HYDRANT.

(No Model.)

Patented Aug. 2'7, 1889.

IMIHIIM www@ UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE'.

ELLIs L. EoWE, oE LANSINGEUEG, NEW YORK, AssIGNoR To THE RENssEL- AERMANUFACTURING COMPANY, or SAME IJLAGE.`

HYDRANT.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. l10,026, dated August27, 1889'.

Application filed January 1 7, 1 8 89.

To all whom it may concern:

Beit known that I, ELLIS L. ROWE, of Lansingburg, in the county ofRensselaer and State of NewYork, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Hydrants; and l do hereby declare that the following isa full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked there# on,which form part of this specification, in which- Y Figure l is a sideelevation of my improved hydrant or fire-plug, partlybroken away to showthe internal parts. Fig. 2 is a central vertical section through thesame. Fig. 3 is a transverse section on line :c x, Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is anenlarged detail view `of the dripvalve-operating parts.. Fig. 5 is adetail vertical sectional view similar to Figf2, showing the main valveopened and the drip closed. Fig. 6 is a detail view of the gate-valve.Fig. 7 is a detail view of the casting carrying the gate.

This invention is an improvement in hy drants or fire-plugs, and relatesespecially to the kind known as gate-valve hydrants g and its object isto obviate the defects found in the leading gate-hydrants in presentusesuch as opening of the drip while the main vvalve is open, andchoking of the drip by ,the sediment Vcollecting in the hydrant-casing.

To this end the invention consists, essentially, in a novelconstruct-ion of hydrant and the drip devices thereof, whereby the gatecan be closed horizontally and truly against its seat Without unequal`Wear or diagonal compression on its packing or facing.` In other Words,the gate will be first lowered to a position directly opposite the seatand then moved squarely against its seat, and not have any slidingmovement up or down on said seat while being closed or opened.

Another important feature is that the dripvalve shall be openedsimultaneously with the complete closing of the valve and cut o at themoment the valve begins to open, and to so construct and arrange theworking parts of the drip-valve that they shall be protected from injuryand not aected by variations of water-pressure in the hydrant-casing.

Another feature of the invention is to con- Serial No. 296,609. (Nomodel.)

disturbing the situation of the latter. y

These several,feature`s are hereinafter 6o 'clearly described andclaimed.

Referring by letter to the drawings, A and A represent, respectively,thelower and upper portions of the casing of my improved hydrant. The upperportion A may be ornamented in anydesired` manner, and is `provided withdischarge-openings a. and closed by a cap a in the usual manner. Portion`A is flanged at bottom and bolted toa corresponding ange at the upperend of portion 7o A. Portion A is provided with a dripopening in itsbottom and an entry-port B at one side near the lower end thereof, whichport is properly dressed on its face Within the casr `ing to form a seatb for the valve.

B is a stop-lug projecting inwardly fro the wall of the casing belowseat b.

C designates a vert-icalinwardly-standing rib within portion Aand"diametrically opposite port B. This rib is preferably inclined 8o Dfrom top to bottom,being widest at bottom and ending ata point about ona line `Withthe bottom of said port. This rib, which is employedprincipally to transfer strain from the main stem to the casing, maybemade straight,

or, if the stem be made strong enough to withstand the pressure when thegate-valve is closed, might be omitted. p y

c cdesignate two inwardly-standing vertical guide-ribs within portion Aon opposite 9o sides thereof and between rib C and port B.

D represents a tube rising vertically and cent-rally in portion A atbottom thereof, and having a shallow-flanged month d at top, forming aseat forthe lower end of the main stem. The upper port-ion E of the boreof tube D is rectangular, and its `lower portion is cylindrical, as ate, while at bottornits Walls converge slightly inward, forming a seat e'for a drip-valve. J ust, above `the bottom of Ico portion A tube D isperforated, as at DD, to permit water to escape from the casing.

F is the main-valve stem rising centrally within the casing, its lowerend being enlarged and formed into a tube f, which is threadedinteriorly and rests upon shoulder d of tube D. The upper end of thestem is squared and engaged by the socketed end of a turning-key F',properly mounted in the upper end of the casing and passing through capa thereof, so that it can be operated by a wrench in the ordinary mannerto turn the stem. This stem has no longitudinal or vertical movement.The stem is threaded, as shown at f, for engaging and operating a sleeveor casting G, which bears the gatevalve. This casting has a tubularportion G at top, threaded interiorly to engage the threads of stern F,and portion G has two opposite outstanding lateral flanges or wings g gand a rear outwardly-projecting rib H. The wings g g move opposite toguide-ribs c c, and rib H engages with and moves against rib C, asshown, the casting being thus properly centered and guided in itsmovements within portion A of the casing. The casting is hollowedinteriorly to permit it to descend over the tube f, as indicated in thedrawings. The face of the casting opposite port B is dressed plain, andin the lower portionv of this face is formed a central channel h, whichopens into the hollow interior of the casting, and on each side ofchannel 7i. is a downwardly and inwardly inclined groove 7L', formingshoulders h at bottom.

I designates the valve or gate, consisting of a disk having a pair ofinclined lu'gs t' t' projecting from its rear face at pointscorresponding to grooves h. In the front face of this disk is a circularrecess Z, having a beveled edge, and in this recess is seated a flexiblepacking-disk fi of any suitable material.

J is a met-al plate having a central threaded stud j passed centrallythrough the valve and secured by anut j', the plate assisting in bindingthe packing to the valve, and also preventing cutting away of the sameby gravel or sand carried by the water-currents. The gate is mounted oncasting G by setting its lugs e' ol in grooves h, Vthe lugs beingsupported on shoulders h', and the gate is prevented from falling fromAthe casting by means of slotted straps and pins J', attached at theirends to the sides of the gate and casting, as shown, but permitting thegate a limited amount of' vertical movement on the casting.

K designates the drip-valve stem playing in sleeve D, and having anenlarged and threaded upper end 7c engaging the threads of sleeve f andadapted to move within said sleeve. Below end kY the stem is madeangular for a short distance, as at 7c', to engage,

the angular portion of the bore of tube D and prevent the stem turningtherein, and below portion 7e the stem is reduced cylindrically at 7cand its extremity threaded, as shown.

is made,preferably, of flexible material-such as leather-and is of suchexternal diameter that it will fit closely within the cylindrical partof the bore of tube D.

The operation of the parts is as follows: Stem K, carrying valve L, isengaged With sleeve f of stem F, and casting G is suspended on the stemalso. Then, portion A of the casing being in proper position, stem F islowered therein with the casting, gate, and stem K until its sleeve f isseated in the upper end of tube D, as shown, the casting and stem Kbeing adjusted previously to the insertion so that valve L will pass andclose openings D', and the gate I will be suspended above the port B.Then stem F is rotated to lower casting G and gate I until the latter isstopped in its descent by lug B, when it will be eX- actly opposite theport. Now, further lower` ing of the casting causes lugs t' i of thegate .to ride up in grooves h', and as the opposed faces of the groovesand lugs are beveled the gate is forced away from the casting andagainst seat b, and by further depressing the casting by manipulatingstem F the gate can be powerfully locked on its seat. The rib H of thecasting engaging rib C of portion A transfers pressure from the gate andcasting to the casing and relieves stem F of strain. The pressureexerted on the gate is applied directly and at right angles thereto, sothat it is kept from rising in its seat and is properly seated before itis locked, so that dragging Wear or rubbing on the flexible packingthereof is prevented. Vhen the motion of the stem is reversed, casting Grises, disengaging lugs t' and the grooves and loosening the gate; butthe latter is not lifted until its lugs t' are caught by shoulders h andthe pressure of water thereagainst will have forced it back from itsseat, so there will be no rubbing or grinding on its face against theseat when it finally rises. The threads of part 7c of stem K areopposite threads f of stem F and are of less pitch than the lat-ter, sothat only about a sixth as much movement will be imparted to stem K asis given casting G, and the valve L is of such depth that perforations Dwill be closed except when the valve is at its highest position, asindicated in figures. At the moment when in closing gate I rests uponstop B, valve L, which has been rising during the lowering of the gate,begins to unclose openingsv D', and the gate is locked as valve L risessufciently high to entirely free said openings, so that Water in thecasing can escape freely therefrom. The threaded end of stem K moves upand down within sleeve f as the latter revolves, and the squared portionk of said stem is sufficient in length to allow the necessary movementof the stem, but prevent rotation thereof.

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In opening the gate valve L begins to descend before the gate isentirely freed, and will close the openings D about the time that thegate is engaged and lifted by shoulders h, and the valve-cup is deepenough to keep these openings closed during the remainder of itsdownward movement, and even when seated on e, as it is when the gate isfully opened, the sides of the valve prevent water entering the tubethrough these openings. A stop-collar O on stem F limits the upwardmovement of casting G. `Thus it will be seen that the stem K isprotected, as water is excluded from tube D above the valve, and anysand or gravel collecting in the bottom of the casing will not hinderthe workingof my drip-valve, as is the case with drip-valves operated bylevers or wedges, as these are often rendered inoperative by gravel orsediment collecting in' the casing. Should any sediment enter the tubebelow the valve, it can readily escape therefrom. By properly adj ustingthe parts it will be impossible for the drip-valve to be forced open byextreme water-pressure when the gate is opened, as is a common faultwith well-known hydrants depending upon gravity of the internal parts tokeep the drip closed, as the force of extreme water-pressure oftenovercomes the gravity and the drip is opened, saturating the ground tosuch an extent that the water remains in the casing and freezes or thehydrant is loosened and unearthed. Bylooseuing the top of the casing thestem F can be withdrawn, and with it the casting G, gate-valve, stem K,and valve L, so that all the workin g parts are readily accessible forrepairs.

Having thus described my invention, I claim#- 1. In 'a hydrant, thecombination of the casing having an internal upstanding tube in itsbottom and drip-openin gs therein, and a mainvalve stem supported andturning on said tube, but not vertically movable in the casing, and themain valve operated by said stem, with a non-rotatable valve-steininsaid tube, having a threaded upper end engaging the threaded lower endof the main-valve stem and adapted to be raised simultaneously with theclosing of the main valve by the rotation of the main stem and to belowered simultaneously with the opening of the main valve bytheopposite` rotation of the main stem, and the drip-valve on said stem,playing in said tube and adapted to close the dripopenings,substantially in the manner and for the purpose specified.

2. The combination of the casing, the tube therein having drip-openingsnear its lower end, the inlet-port and valve-seat, and the main stemcarrying the main valve having an internally-threaded lower endsupported on said tube, but not vertically movable, with the drip-valvestem having a threaded upper end engaging the threadedlower end of thelnain stem, an angular portion engaging a corresponding angular bore ofthe tube to prevent rotation of the drip-valve stem, and the drip-valveon said stem adapted to close the drip-openin gs simultaneously with theunseating of the main valve and to open the same simultaneously with theclosing of said main valve when the main stem is rotated, substantiallyas specified.

3. The combination of the casing provided with an inlet-port, aninternal valve-seat for said port, and a valve-stop, with a threadedvalve-stem mounted in said casing, but having no vertical orlongitudinal movement, a casting mounted upon said stem and havinginclined grooveson its front face, and a gate-valve suspended on saidcasting and having inclined lugs on its rear face engaging the inclinedrecesses of the casting, substantially as and for the purpose described.

1i. The combination of the casing, the tube in the bottom Ythereofhaving the upper portion of its bore angular, and the drip-openingscommunicating with said tube, with the main-valve stem having aninternally-threaded lower end resting on the upper end of said tube, adrip-valve stem having a threaded upper end engaging the threaded end ofthel main stem, anangular portion engaging the angular bore of the tube,and a lower depending portion in the cylindrical bore of the tube, and adrip-valve mounted on`said lower portion and adapted to close thedrip-openings, substantially in the manner and for the purposespecified.

5. The combination of the casing having an inlet-port and valve-seat, avertical tube in its bottom and drip-openings communieating with saidtube, and a main stem having a lower hollow interiorly-threaded endsupported on said tube, and a casting supported on said stem carrying agate-valve, with the valve-stem K, having a threaded portion engagingthe lower end of the main stem, a rectangular portion engaging anangular part of the bore of the tube, and a cup-` valve on the lower endof stem K within said tube, all substantially as described.

6. The combination of the casing having an inlet-port, valve-seat,valve-stop, and vertical guide-ribs, substantially as described, and acentral vertical valve-stem mounted in stationary bearings in the casingand not vertically movable therein, with the casting G, mounted on saidstem having a tubular portion g, side wings and rear rib engaging theguide-ribs of the casing, and inclined grooves h and shoulders h in itsfront face, and the valve I, mounted ou said casting and having inclinedlugs v.' on its rear face engaging the grooves and shoulders of thecasting, all substantially as specified.

7. The combination of the casing, the inletport thereof and it-svalve-seat, the vertical tube in the bottom thereof, and drip-openingscommunicating therewith, with the mainvalve stem F, supported on saidtube having an intern ally-threaded sleeve on its lower end, a castingG, playing on said stem, the gate-f IOO IOS

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valve mounted on said Casting", and the stem my own I affix my signaturein presence of K, engaging the sleeve of stem F and opertwo Witnesses.ated thereby, mounted, in the vertical tube and carrying; a drip-Valve,alloonstrueted and LLLIS L RO E' 5 arranged substantially in the mannegand XVitnesses:

for the purpose speoied. T. H. ALEXANDER,

In testimony that l claim the foregoing as A. E. DOWELL.

